Running the Northwest Circuit By Randy Richmond of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
In 1985 I visited Stewart Island with my then girlfriend to hike the NW Circuit loop. We only made it to the Bungaree hut before we had to turn back as the conditions were too much for my partner. Flash forward 33 years and I had the pleasure to visit Stewart Island once again with my partner (now my wife), but this time to run the entire 125km NW Circuit in one go. Of course my wife was smart enough to not want anything to do with the run except be there to pick up the pieces when I finish! I recruited my Kiwi friend Ailsa, who had never visited the island before, to run the NW Circuit. We started at the trailhead at 5:40am, with the goal to head in a clockwise direction, making it back to Oban before dark the following night. Although we carried only the minimum amount of food (2 days’ worth) and basic survival gear (rain jacket, spare dry shirt, down jacket and rain pants, our packs still felt heavy while running compared to what we are used to. We made good steady progress to the North Arm Hut, especially along the old road, and quickly cruised with our fresh legs the more rugged section to reach Freshwater Hut. Because it was only one day after that huge rain event February 1st, I was nervous the next section out to Mason’s Bay would be flooded, but it turned out just fine. We made quick progress and got to Mason’s Bay Hut at 11:30am, just under 6 hours. After a quick 15 min refueling we set off onto the beach section to try and beat the king tide that was quickly coming in. Unfortunately we were forced onto the high tide route, which easily added a half hour more time and a lot of energy. We knew the easy part of the run was now over and the real work was only beginning, although, when we caught glimpses of the wild west coast of the island or ran on some of the beaches like Little hellfire, we became elated and re-energized with the beauty. The next section from Mason’s Bay through Little Hellfire to East Ruggedy was, like most of the circuit, slow and technical. We rolled into East Ruggedy Hut just before 8pm, a 7hr50min run from Mason’s Bay Hut. Although we wanted to take a well needed 30 minute rest here, we decided to maximize the little bit of light we had left and quickly moved on. This is when things started to get REAL slow, as the trail at night became very technical and challenging, coupled with our now tired beat up bodies, forward progress was mentally tough as we stumbled on into the night. The rock beach between East Ruggedy and Long Harry Hut was very slow and- well- not fun in the dark. Even finding the exit off the beach at night was not easy. We did run into several Kiwi birds, one of them literally! I think our headlights must have confused one as he ran right into our legs, bouncing off us in a very confused state. It was quite comical- like a scene out of the Three Stooges. We also witnessed the biggest blood orange/red super moon just before it set over the ocean- wow, this is what I thought it’s all about! Somewhere around Yankee River Hut at 4:45am I decided it would be prudent and strategic to rest for 45min before light and try and get over the nauseous stomach I had. While trying to eat, my stomach would have nothing to do with it and I proceeded to “feed the animals”. It was now drizzling as we both curled up in a ball on the muddy trail where I actually slept for 15 minutes before being woken up by the cold wet chill penetrating my body. It was now 5:40 am, the signs of the early dawn light penetrated the forest and my stomach made a 100% recovery. With few words spoken, Ailsa was ready to rip and so was I. We ran for the first 10 minutes in our down jackets till our bodies got warm once again until we stopped quickly to strip down into our light running gear. I happily devoured a mars bar, excited my nausea was gone and off we charged. The next 12 hours we charged hard and made great time with only a few 5 minute breaks. Other than our blistered sore feet from always being wet and gritty from the sand, we felt great. At 4:40pm we made it back to the Horseshoe Bay car park trail head- completing the loop in 35 hours. Two hours later sitting in the South Sea Hotel for dinner and looking out at the rain squalls rolling through Oban, it felt like heaven, but also relief knowing I could finally stop thinking about finishing this loop after 33 years! Best of all though, It was a relief knowing that Stewart Island had remained that magical place I’d always remembered it to be.